Day 25: Florence, Italy

This was the day my 12-day roomie and I almost got left by the bus. We kind of didn't get up until 10 minutes before the bus was about to depart. Kind of embarrassing. Nonetheless, we got on the bus, even if that meant we needed to get ready in a jiffy.

This was also the day that we headed to Florence and a professional photographer was going to take our tour group shot with the view that is shown in the picture above. That is basically the view of the whole city of Florence. Florence was absolutely breathtaking and is my second favorite destination of the tour (Venice precedes it by only a small margin). I wanted to stay longer in Florence. I wish we were there for more than a couple of hours.

When we got to Florence, we had a leather craft demonstration and then we were free to roam around before the walking tour. I went around with Amanda and Rina to get some gelato and then check out the markets. I was really really tempted to buy this one bag for 110 euro. I wasn't exactly sure if it was genuine leather but I loved the design of it. However, I stopped myself.

Afterwards, we went to the Piazza della Signoria in order to meet with the group and go on the walking tour. The tour guide, Giovanni, was extremely nice. He was very laid back and relaxed. We saw the Baptistry which has absolutely gorgeous doors. Afterwards, some of the tour group went to see Michelangelo's David. I decided not to. Don't stone me. It's just a license to go back to the city.

Instead of seeing David, I went to the market in the further piazza. I forgot the name of it and I'm too lazy to get my map and look for it. Nonetheless, I got a really really cool wallet from there which I love playing with. (There's also another story at the market. I'll tell you about it when we see each other, my dear reader. Just remind me. :]). There was a parade of some sort when I headed to the Basilica Santa Croce to meet with the rest of the tour group. I wish I knew what the parade was for.

We left the city center and checked in our hotel at around 5:30. There is a Tuscan dinner excursion that night that I decided to take a part of and I'm glad I did. The food was wonderful. I had such delicious lasagna and another pasta dish which I believe is, once again, pasta arribiata. There was also a beef dish which I loved. The dinner was accompanied by lively music and I got serenaded with Que Sera Sera by the old man and his accordion.

It was a perfect end to my stay in Florence and I would really really love to go back there.